Endless Potential

Helena was running around her apartment in what, to any sane person, looked like complete and utter chaos. She had spent the whole day getting ready. She subsequently had been changing her outfit countless different times but finally ended up settling on the very first one she’d had on. Now she was deciding on her final plans for the dinner she was going to be cooking for her first home date with Samuel.

Everything had to be just right because she knew Samuel was a little bit of a perfectionist. While kind and understanding she knew he put a lot of thought into things and paid attention to the finer details. In their previous dates she had only been listening and learning about who he was as a person and regardless of his taste for perfection he wasn't boastful or egotistical in any way.

Samuel was about 6' tall with dark sandy brown hair, grey, yet sometimes almost hazel eyes, and a full, well groomed beard. He was athletic, strong, and well trained in the art of violence but he was a good enough man to only use his training and skills when absolutely necessary. Not only was he physically attractive but he was deeply intelligent and intuitive. His mind was one of his most attractive qualities...he knows how to read people and seems to value honesty above most anything else... This was a man Helena knew she wanted to impress and his intelligence and sense of perfection would hold her to a higher set of standards. Even though he was a bit of a perfectionist he was never unkind and always humble, it was this quality that made her fall for him even more than she already had been.

Helena had decided on something that her whole family loved whenever she cooked it. Her choice wasn't a typical first date meal; meatloaf, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, peas, and dinner rolls. It was down home cooking she felt he would appreciate most. Attention to detail and a familiarity with the dish made this a better choice than something fancy she knew she had never even cooked, let alone tasted before. It would all come down to careful use of the ingredients, attention to the cooking times, and how she serves the meal. After her previously frenzied day her easy familiarity with the dish soothed the last of her frayed nerves. Samuel arrived promptly at 7pm, as she knew he would. 

Helena couldn’t help it she was all smiles and excitement as she ushered him inside. She was absently apologizing for the mess of an apartment, knowing full well it wasn't really a mess at all. Samuel always seemed to know how to ease her mind and his quiet assurances had their intended effects. Helena was already more relaxed than before Samuel had even showed up.

Since she’d planned ahead Helena had made sure dinner was laid out and ready to serve at the small table in her equally tiny kitchen. Once she had served them both she sat down and tried not to stare as he took his first couple bites. While finally forcing herself to focus on her own plate Helena heard Samuel sigh a small “mmm” after his first bite of her meatloaf and from that point on she was content that she hadn't disappointed him with her choice in meals or how well she had cooked it.

Their conversation was easy as it had been on their previous dates. The rare moments of quiet weren't ever awkward. Never had Helena dreamt she could feel like this with someone again. She had forgotten how good it felt to have that relaxed easy going beginning. This was something she hoped would continue to grow and someday become more.

After dinner and her simple desert of a light mango gelato. They talked for hours. Conversation flowed as easily as did a few too many subsequent glasses of wine. While pleasantly buzzed she was enjoying learning more about Samuel and who he really is. She learned of Samuel's love of swords and that he was an experienced swordsman. Oddly enough Helena had recently received a sword as a gift from a friend and she knew right then who the sword was always meant for. Even though the sword was cracked, and he said it couldn’t be used to fight anymore, he still wanted to refurbish it. Samuel had even offered to pay for the sword in its extremely damaged state.

They found they both had a lot to talk about even though they had lived completely different lives. He never looked down at her when she opened up about the not so nice things in her life and was not only kind but logical in his responses. They talked as the sky began to change from cool, dark, and twinkling into dawn as the first tendrils of light made their way into the sky and their night was rapidly coming to an close.

Helena felt like she had known him years already. They had talked effortlessly until the sun started peeking over the horizon again. His eyes while grey that night had taken on an almost golden hue with the rising of the sun. Helena was lost in them and so badly wished it wasn’t time to end their conversation. She knew he had to go home. But he so deeply fascinated her with his knowledge and experience. Helena felt she would never comprehend why he chose her. He was so perfect and she felt so flawed by comparison. When she asked him why he was with her when she was still trying to improve herself and wasn’t perfect yet...

Samuel replied,

“Why would I refurbish a sword that’s damaged or broken? The sword may not be able to fight again but I can make it look good and shiny and make it stronger than it is right now.” 

Samuel saw endless potential in everything he invested his time in which meant he saw potential in her too...

All of Helena's past insecurities became null and void in that moment all because he was saying he accepted her regardless… all those negative thoughts may still cling at times but they will no longer matter as much because he accepted her for who she was...the good with the bad. And thats what all those negative thoughts had said would never happen...

As Helena walked him to the door he was facing the opposite wall leaving the kitchen and going into into the living room he could see her family photos covering the entire expanse above her couch. Mixed in amongst the many photos was a small photo from her first marriage, only on the wall now because her children were in the photo as well. When she saw his eyes settle on it she was afraid he would assume she was still hanging onto her previous relationship. She watched nervously as a slight curve crept up at the corners of his mouth. That smile was all it took for her to know this was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. When he turned and looked at her with an even bigger smile, a smile that showed in the perfectly etched laugh lines around his eyes she knew she was utterly and completely in love with him and that Samuel felt exactly the same way about her too.